Page 52 of What He Always Knew

I just expected more of myself, and I would tell her the truth, no matter how hard it would be.

One of the finches jumped to a new branch, the other following quickly before they both went up in flight again, shaking me from my thoughts. I watched them fly high and then low, and I smiled.

Charlie would love them.

I remembered her anger when she set Jane free, when she accused me of trying to buy a bird to mask the pain she’d felt from Jeremiah losing his house at school, but that wasn’t the truth at all. Me building her a library or helping her in the garden or buying her new birds wasn’t me trying tobuyher love.

It was just me showing mine.

The one thing my piece of shit father had taught me was that actions spoke louder than words.

He told my mother he loved her, but he beat her within an inch of her life too many times to count. And then, one night, he just didn’t stop.

Words meant nothing to me.

I loved Charlie, and I could say it all day long but it wouldn’t matter. So, I showed her I loved her by listening to her, by understanding what makes her happy, what brings her joy, and doing those things for her. If I knew she was tired and dreading cleaning the house, I’d do it before she got home. If I knew she was stressed out from school, I’d take her to get a new book.

And if I knew my wife like I believed I did, I knew she missed her birds.

I knew it killed her inside that she lost them.

I only hoped this new aviary and her new friends inside it would bring back a little joy to this house for Charlie. Because whether she felt it anymore or not, this was our home.

And I was hell bent on keeping it that way.

I heard a car pull into our drive, followed closely by the sound of two doors shutting.

She was back.

Steeling a breath, I checked those final touches I’d added to the aviary and made my way out, shutting the door carefully behind me so our new finches wouldn’t escape. Then, I made my way to the front door, checking my appearance in our foyer mirror.

I looked as tired as I felt.

My eyes were heavy, just like my heart, and my hair was a little longer than I’d let it grow in quite some time. I needed to shave, but I hadn’t had the chance — not with the aviary being my main priority.

I was still dressed in the casual workout shorts and t-shirt I’d worked in all day, a welcome change from the coat and jeans I’d been wearing for months. Spring was finally starting to greet us in Pennsylvania, and I’d opened our windows to let in the warm air. It was only in the sixties, but to us, that was a heat wave.

I ran one hand back through my hair, trying to tame the mess, and then I let out a breath and opened the front door.

No oxygen came after that last breath.

I just stood there, right inside my front door, holding onto that breath as my heart beat loud and slow in my ears. I heard each thump like a war drum, my eyes zeroed in on the target, my hands curling into fists at my side.

It was one thing to know Charlie had been unfaithful to me, and it was one thing to know another man had touched her. Those were both facts that I knew to be true.

I understood that my wife was not just mine anymore, but it was one thing to simply know that in the back of my mind.

It was another thing entirely to see it.

Reese stood at the bottom of my driveway, leaning against his car with Charlie in his arms. His lips were on hers, one hand in her hair while the other gripped her lower back, and seeing him touching her poked a bear I didn’t even realized existed inside me.

And that bear woke up like one angry, territorial son of a bitch.

My nose flared, nails biting into my palms where my fists clenched at my side, and I tried to be rational. I tried to force myself to stay in my house, to wait for her, to not let what I saw affect me.

But it was like stepping on a rattlesnake and expecting it not to strike.

A throaty growl ripped from my throat, one I’d never let loose before, one that was born from a primal instinct I couldn’t contain. I flew from the porch and down the driveway, steam rolling off me like a freight train on a cold night, and the last thing I saw was Charlie spinning in his arms, her eyes wide when she saw me, and Reese stepped in front of her, meeting me first.